Systems and methods of interactive voice response speed control

ABSTRACT

A user may accelerate or decelerate the speed of playback of a recorded message provided by an interactive voice response (IVR) system at any time during the course of listening to the recorded message. The user may provide speed control instructions using predetermined keys or buttons on a communications device to modify the speed of the recorded message playback. Alternatively or additionally, the user may speak words to adjust the speed that a recorded message is being played to them. A speed control instruction may cause some or all of the recorded message to be repeated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/244,066, entitled “Systems and Methods of Interactive Voice ResponseSpeed Control,” filed Oct. 2, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,781,082, theentirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Thisapplication is related by subject matter to that disclosed in thefollowing commonly assigned applications, the entirety of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein: U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/244,074, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/244,079, eachfiled Oct. 2, 2008 and each entitled “Systems and Methods of InteractiveVoice Response Speed Control.”

BACKGROUND

Speech recognition, also referred to as voice recognition, convertsspoken words to machine-readable input. Speech recognition in the fieldof telephony is commonplace. Speech recognition applications includevoice dialing (e.g., “call home”), call routing (e.g., “make a collectcall”), and simple data entry.

In telephony, interactive voice response, or IVR, is a phone technologythat allows a computer to detect voice and touch tones using a normalphone call. An IVR system can respond with prerecorded or dynamicallygenerated audio to further direct users on how to proceed. IVR systemscan be used to control almost any function where the interface can bebroken down into a series of simple menu choices. For example, a userdials a phone number that is answered by an IVR system. The IVR systemexecutes an application which is tied to the number dialed. As part ofthe application, prerecorded audio files or dynamically generated textto speech audio explain the options available to the user. The user isgiven the choice to select options using DTMF (dual-tonemulti-frequency) tones or spoken words. Examples of typical IVRapplications are telephone banking and credit card transactions.

Speech recognition and phone menu systems that route users' calls areproblematic and frustrating. IVR is often criticized as being unhelpfuland difficult to use due to poor design and lack of appreciation of theuser's needs. Some users object to providing voice response to anautomated system and prefer speaking with a human respondent.

Additionally, speech recognition and phone menu systems often haverecorded message playback speeds that are either too fast or too slowfor a user of the system. If the playback speed is too fast, the usermay not understand the communication and the system may be unusable forthem. If the playback speed is too slow, it may be frustrating for theuser and this may contribute to slower or limited adoption. It is alsopossible that a playback speed that is acceptable at one point in asession with a user is not acceptable in another point in the sessionwith the user, creating further frustration.

SUMMARY

The speed of playback of a recorded message provided by an interactivevoice response (IVR) system may be adjusted by a use at any time whilethe user is listening to the recorded message.

In an implementation, a user may provide speed control instructionsusing predetermined keys or buttons on a communications device to modifythe speed of the recorded message playback. Alternatively oradditionally, the user may speak words to adjust the speed that arecorded message is being played to them. A speed control instructionmay cause some or all of the recorded message to be repeated.

In an implementation, data pertaining to a user and/or a recordedmessage may be stored, retrieved, and/or analyzed. Such data or analysismay be used in an adjustment of the playing of the recorded message oranother recorded message to a user.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofillustrative embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunctionwith the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating theembodiments, there are shown in the drawings example constructions ofthe embodiments; however the embodiments are not limited to the specificmethods and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an implementation of a system that may beused to provide interactive voice response speed control;

FIG. 2 is an operational flow of an implementation of a method that maybe used to provide interactive voice response speed control;

FIG. 3 is an operational flow of another implementation of a method thatmay be used to provide interactive voice response speed control;

FIG. 4 is an operational flow of another implementation of a method thatmay be used to provide interactive voice response speed control;

FIG. 5 is an operational flow of another implementation of a method thatmay be used to provide interactive voice response speed control; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example computing environment in whichexample embodiments and aspects may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an implementation of a system 100 that maybe used to provide interactive voice response (IVR) speed control. Auser 112 may be a caller to an institution system 120 to obtaininformation about an institution associated with the institution system120, products or services, or to speak with a representative 160, forexample.

The institution may be any type of entity or business. For example, theinstitution may be a financial services institution, a credit cardassociation or member of a credit card association, a retail bank, aninvestment bank, an investment company, etc. The institution system 120may include any combination of systems and sub-systems such aselectronic devices including, but not limited to, computers, servers,databases, or the like. The electronic devices may include anycombination of hardware components such as processors, databases,storage drives, registers, cache, random access memory (RAM) chips, databuses, or the like and/or software components such as operating systems,database management applications, or the like. Systems and/or subsystemsof the institution system 120 may provide an IVR platform that may beused in conjunction with aspects and embodiments described herein.

The user 112 may have a communications device 115, such as a corded orcordless telephone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA),a handheld computing device, a personal computer (PC), or any type ofcomputing device that may be used to transmit and receive sound. Anexample computing device and its components are described in more detailwith respect to FIG. 6.

In addition to a microphone and a speaker for receiving and playingaudio, respectively, in an implementation, the communications device 115may comprise a keypad, a keyboard, a touchscreen, or any other type ofinput device that can receive input from the user 112. This allows thecommunications device 115 to be used by the user 112 as an input devicefor interacting with the institution system 120. The user 112 may speakcommands or input commands, e.g., by pushing buttons or touching thescreen of the communications device 115 as an input method. In animplementation, items on a display of the communications device 115 maybe selected or moved with a finger or stylus, and finger gestures may beused to convey commands. There are a number of types of input technologyavailable and any of them may be implemented within the communicationsdevice 115.

The communications device 115 may operate through transmission ofelectric signals over a network 140. The network 140 may be any type oftelephone network or communications network such as an intranet, theInternet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), awireless fidelity (WiFi) network, a public switched telephone network(PSTN), a cellular network, a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)network, and the like.

The institution system 120 may play an audio file, such as a recordedmessage 122, over the network 140 to the user 112 via the communicationsdevice 115. The user 112 may provide a speed control instruction 117 tothe institution system 120 via the communications device 115 toaccelerate (i.e., speed up) or decelerate (i.e., slow down) the speed ofthe playback of the recorded message 122 at any time during a sessionwhen the user 112 is listening to the recorded message 122. The speedcontrol instruction 117 may also provide an instruction to repeat all orsome portion of the recorded message 122. In an implementation, apredetermined amount of the message may be repeated, such as theprevious 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc. The user may choose to repeat morethan once in order to have a longer portion of the message replayed. Inan implementation, the entire message may be repeated pursuant to aspeed control instruction 117 of repeat.

The speed control instruction 117 may take the form of spoken commands,such as “faster”, “slower”, “repeat”, etc. and/or may take the form ofcommands selected by the user 112 via the communications device 115,such as pushing a first button on a keypad (or keyboard, touchscreen,etc.) to choose to speed up, a second button on the keypad to slow down,and a third button on the keypad to repeat. The buttons may correspondto selectable numbers as provided by the institution system 120, such as“press or say ‘1’ to speed up, press or say ‘2’ to slow down, press orsay ‘3’ to repeat”, for example. In an implementation, predeterminedkeys on a touch tone phone may be used to modify the speed of therecorded message playback (e.g., ‘5’ for repeat, ‘7’ for fasterplayback, and ‘9’ for slower playback).

The user 112 may thus speak or enter commands and/or numbers into thecommunications device 115 to instruct the institution system 120 toaccelerate, decelerate, or repeat the recorded message 122 that is beingplayed to the user 112. In this manner, the user 112 may have controlover the speed of the playback of the recorded message 122. In animplementation, more than one speed control instruction 117 may beprovided to the institution system 120 by the user 112, and more thanone recorded message 122 may be played back to the user 112. Any knownvoice recognition technology may be used by the institution system 120to recognize spoken instructions received from the user 112. In animplementation, some or all of the recorded messages that may be playedto the user 112 may be related to financial services information, suchas banking, brokerage services, insurance, loans, retirement, etc.

In an implementation, the institution system 120 may analyze aspects ofthe instructions received from the user 112 and take appropriate actionsuch as changing the playback speed further and/or transferring the user112 to a representative 160. For example, if the user 112 says “repeat”or “excuse me” (or provides equivalent instructions), a certain portion(e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc.) of the recorded message 122 that hadbeen previously played may be repeated, and the playback speed may beslowed down a predetermined amount. As another example, if the user 112chooses a menu selection provided in the recorded message 122 before therecorded message 122 is finished playing, further playback of recordedmessages to the user 112 may be accelerated by a predetermined amount.

In an implementation, the user 112 may provide identification and/orauthorization information (e.g., PIN (personal identification number),password, etc.) to the institution system 120 via the communicationsdevice 115 in any known manner. Any techniques for identification andauthorization may be used. The institution system 120 may haveappropriate security mechanisms in place to prevent unauthorized thirdparties from intercepting the user's information.

The institution system 120 may comprise storage 127 to store preferencesof the user 112, preferences associated a telephone number from which asession originated, preferences of other users, data relating to one ormore sessions with one or more users, etc. The storage 127 may alsostore information such as audio files, recorded messages, cues, prompts,menu items, directory information, information pertaining to productsand services, information about the institution system, etc. Theinformation may be retrieved from the storage 127 and played to the user112 during a session when the user 112 calls in and/or when requested bythe user 112 or as part of a call navigation technique. The storage 127may also contain identification and authentication informationpertaining to the user 112, so that the user 112 may efficiently beidentified and authenticated by the institution system 120.

In an implementation, the institution system 120 may identify the user112 and play the recorded message 122 at a speed preference earlierselected by the user 112. In an implementation, the institution system120 may identify the phone number where the user 112 is calling from andplay a message at a speed preference earlier selected by a user at thatphone number.

A session may be considered to be taking place when the user 112 isengaged in a call with the institution system 120. As described furtherherein, when a recorded message 122 is being played to a user 112 duringa session, the user 112 may select to accelerate, decelerate, or repeatthe playback of the recorded message 122.

The audio files corresponding to the recorded messages may be storeddigitally, and therefore they may be modified or filtered potentially inreal time. In an implementation, a message for playback may be stored instorage 127 as a single file, and may be processed on the fly so thatthe message playback may be accelerated or decelerated to any speed, notonly to fixed speeds.

In an implementation, a message for playback may be stored as multiplefiles, with each file pertaining to a different speed of playback. Thus,multiple audio files for a recorded message may be used, one for eachdifferent available playback speed. The message may be recorded atdifferent speeds and played back at a speed associated with the userselection from the associated stored file. In an implementation, synccodes may be used to sync the files corresponding to the differentspeeds as the files for playback are changed as the user 112 providesspeed control instructions 117 to change the speed of the playback ofthe recorded message 122.

The institution system 120 may comprise one or more processors 125 andsoftware modules 126 that may act in conjunction with one or morecomputing devices 124 in the performance of the techniques andoperations described herein. Examples of software modules 126 mayinclude modules that may be used to provide IVR and may be used to setplayback speed and other settings and operating parameters, that mayretrieve and playback recorded messages to the user 112, and that mayreceive speed control instructions from the user 112 regarding playbackas well as other input provided by the user 12. While specificfunctionality is described herein as occurring with respect to specificmodules, the functionality may likewise be performed by more, fewer, orother modules. As noted above, an example computing device and itscomponents are described in more detail with respect to FIG. 6.

FIG. 2 is an operational flow of an implementation of a method 200 thatmay be used to provide interactive voice response speed control. At 210,a user may call into an institution system using a communications deviceand the institution system may answer the call. At 220, the institutionsystem may select a recorded message for playback to the user and mayretrieve a file, such as an audio file or other data file, comprisingthe recorded message from storage.

At 230, the institution system may advise the user of the speed controloptions and instructions that the user may use to control the playbackspeed of the recorded message that may be played to the user. The usermay be advised via an audio file. As noted above, in an implementation,predetermined keys on a touch tone phone, predetermined buttons on acomputing device, spoken words, etc. may be used to modify the speed ofthe message playback (e.g., one key for faster playback, another key forslower playback, and a third key to repeat all or a portion of therecorded message).

At 240, the recorded message may be played back to the user at apredetermined speed, e.g. set by the institution system. At 250, theuser may provide a speed control instruction such as an instruction toaccelerate or decelerate the speed that the recorded message is beingplayed. In an implementation, the user may provide an instruction torepeat the message or a portion of the message. The portion of themessage to be repeated may be determined by the institution system. Thespeed control instruction may be spoken or may be provided by anotherinput technique such as keypad, button, keyboard, etc.

At 260, the institution system may receive the speed control instructionand may adjust the playback speed of the recorded message accordinglyand/or repeat the message or portion of the message. The user mayprovide further speed control instructions during the session and thespeed and/or playback may be further adjusted in accordance with thoseinstructions.

FIG. 3 is an operational flow of another implementation of a method 300that may be used to provide interactive voice response speed control. Auser may call into an institution system using a communications deviceat 310 and the institution system may answer the call. At 320, theinstitution system may select a recorded message for playback to theuser, may retrieve a file comprising the recorded message from storage,and may playback the recorded message to the user at a predeterminedspeed.

At 330, similar to 250, the user may provide a speed control instructionto accelerate or decelerate the speed that the recorded message is beingplayed or to repeat the recorded message or a portion of it. At 340, theinstitution system may receive and store the speed control instruction.

At 350, the institution system may analyze the speed control instructionand/or related data (e.g., timing data, selection data, etc.) in view ofany received and stored instructions and/or related data from earlier inthe current session. At 360, the institution system may adjust theplayback speed based on the results of the analysis. In this manner, theuser's speed control instructions and related data during a session maybe monitored and the playback speed of the recorded message and/or otheraspects of the call may be adjusted based on the monitoring. Processingmay continue at 330.

In an implementation, the institution system may analyze how many timesin a row the user has requested to repeat the message (or a portion ofthe message). If the user has requested a repeat a predetermined numberof times within a session or within a certain time period, the call maybe transferred to a representative.

In another implementation, if the user requests a repeat, then themessage or a portion of the message may be repeated as determined by theinstitution system, and the playback speed may be decelerated.Additionally or alternatively, for example, if the user makes aselection (e.g., a menu selection provided by the recorded message)before the recorded message is finished playing, further recordedmessages may be played back to the user at an accelerated speed. In animplementation, the playback speed may be be speeded up or slowed downbased on user response times to cues and/or prompts.

FIG. 4 is an operational flow of another implementation of a method 400that may be used to provide interactive voice response speed control. At410, a user may call into an institution system using a communicationsdevice, the institution system may answer the call, and the user may beidentified using any known technique. For example, the institutionsystem may answer the call and respond with a prompt for identificationand/or authorization information. The user may be asked to identifyhimself using a PIN or password, for example.

At 420, similar to 320, the institution system may select a recordedmessage for playback to the user, may retrieve a file comprising therecorded message from storage, and may playback the recorded message tothe user at a predetermined speed. At 430, similar to 330, the user mayprovide a speed control instruction to the institution system. At 440,the institution system may receive the speed control instruction andadjust the playback speed accordingly or repeat the message or a portionof the message.

At 450, the institution system may store data regarding the recordedmessage that is being played back. The data may identify the particularmessage, the type of message (e.g., lists, instructions, cues, prompts,etc.), other characteristics of the message, and/or the user's speedcontrol instructions regarding the playback of the message, etc., forexample. The data may be associated with the user, the telephone numberof the user, other characteristics of the user, the message, the messagetype, and/or other characteristics of the message, etc. in a storagedevice. Additionally, further data from current and future sessionsinvolving the recorded message(s), the user, and/or other users may bestored.

The stored data may be used at 460 to determine playbackcharacteristics, such as playback speed, for recorded messages in thecurrent session or in future sessions involving the user or other users.In an implementation, user preferences for each message type may bestored as metadata (e.g., user uses a first slower speed to listen tolists, and uses a second faster speed to listen to instructions, etc.).This information (e.g., speed preferences) may be stored and may be usedin current and/or future sessions involving the user or other users.

FIG. 5 is an operational flow of another implementation of a method 500that may be used to provide interactive voice response speed control. Auser may call into an institution system at 510, the institution systemmay answer the call, and the user may be identified using any knowntechnique. At 520, the institution system may select a recorded messagefor playback and may retrieve a file comprising the recorded messagefrom storage.

At 530, it may be determined whether there is any data in storagepertaining to the user, the telephone number that the user is callingfrom, the geographic location the user is calling from (based oninformation obtained from the incoming telephone call to the institutionsystem), or the recorded message that may be used to determine playbackcharacteristics of a recorded message to the user. In an implementation,the data may be directed to playback speed, user preferences forplayback speed, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the gender (male orfemale), accent, and/or other characteristics (e.g., tone, volume, etc.)of the voice of the recorded message may be determined based on thedata, such as the geographic location the user is calling from or thegender of the user, for example.

If there is no stored data as determined at 530, then the recordedmessage may be played back at 540 using predetermined default settings.If there is stored data as determined at 530, the data may be retrievedfrom storage at 550. At 560, the recorded message may be played back inaccordance with the retrieved data.

In an implementation, the playback speed may be set based on whether ornot the recorded message has been previously played back to the user. Ifso, the recorded message may be played back to the user at a fasterspeed than if the recorded message had not previously been played backto the user.

Exemplary Computing Arrangement

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary computing environment in which exampleembodiments and aspects may be implemented. The computing systemenvironment is only one example of a suitable computing environment andis not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality.

Numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing systemenvironments or configurations may be used. Examples of well knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use include, but are not limited to, PCs, server computers,handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-basedsystems, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, embeddedsystems, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

Computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer may be used. Generally, program modules includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Distributed computing environments may be used where tasks are performedby remote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork or other data transmission medium. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules and other data may be located in both localand remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 6, an exemplary system for implementing aspectsdescribed herein includes a computing device, such as computing device600. In its most basic configuration, computing device 600 typicallyincludes at least one processing unit 602 and system memory 604.Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device,system memory 604 may be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such asread-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.), or some combination of thetwo. This most basic configuration is illustrated in FIG. 6 by dashedline 606.

Computing device 600 may have additional features and/or functionality.For example, computing device 600 may include additional storage(removable and/or non-removable) including, but not limited to, magneticor optical disks or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in FIG.6 by removable storage 608 and non-removable storage 610.

Computing device 600 typically includes a variety of computer-readablemedia. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can beaccessed by computing device 600 and include both volatile andnon-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media. By way ofexample, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprisecomputer storage media and communication media.

Computer storage media include volatile and non-volatile, and removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information such as computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. System memory 604, removablestorage 608, and non-removable storage 610 are all examples of computerstorage media. Computer storage media include, but are not limited to,RAM, ROM, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM),flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks(DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by computing device 600. Any such computer storage media maybe part of computing device 600.

Computing device 600 may also contain communication connection(s) 612that allow the computing device 600 to communicate with other devices.Communication connection(s) 612 is an example of communication media.Communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includeany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as awired network or direct wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media. Theterm computer-readable media as used herein includes both storage mediaand communication media.

Computing device 600 may also have input device(s) 614 such as akeyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.Output device(s) 616 such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may alsobe included. All these devices are well known in the art and need not bediscussed at length here.

Computing device 600 may be one of a plurality of computing devices 600interconnected by a network. As may be appreciated, the network may beany appropriate network, each computing device 600 may be connectedthereto by way of communication connection(s) 612 in any appropriatemanner, and each computing device 600 may communicate with one or moreof the other computing devices 600 in the network in any appropriatemanner. For example, the network may be a wired or wireless networkwithin an organization or home or the like, and may include a direct orindirect coupling to an external network such as the Internet or thelike.

It should be understood that the various techniques described herein maybe implemented in connection with hardware or software or, whereappropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatusof the presently disclosed subject matter, or certain aspects orportions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions)embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, harddrives, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when theprogram code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as acomputer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the presentlydisclosed subject matter. In the case of program code execution onprogrammable computers, the computing device generally includes aprocessor, a storage medium readable by the processor (includingvolatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least oneinput device, and at least one output device.

One or more programs may implement or utilize the processes described inconnection with the presently disclosed subject matter, e.g., throughthe use of an application programming interface (API), reusablecontrols, or the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high levelprocedural or object oriented programming language to communicate with acomputer system. However, the program(s) can be implemented in assemblyor machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be acompiled or interpreted language and it may be combined with hardwareimplementations.

Although exemplary embodiments may refer to utilizing aspects of thepresently disclosed subject matter in the context of one or morestand-alone computer systems, the subject matter is not so limited, butrather may be implemented in connection with any computing environment,such as a network or distributed computing environment. Still further,aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter may be implemented inor across a plurality of processing chips or devices, and storage maysimilarly be effected across a plurality of devices. Such devices mightinclude PCs, network servers, and handheld devices, for example.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling playback speed ofmessages on an institution's interactive voice response (IVR) system,comprising the steps of: retrieving by a computing device dataassociated with a user from a storage, the data including at least onespeed control instruction having a speed preference previously receivedfrom the user during at least one previous user contact with the IVRsystem; playing by the computing device at least one pre-recordedmessage utilizing the institution's IVR system, to the user over anetwork at the speed preference previously selected by the user duringthe at least one previous user contact with the IVR system; receiving bythe computing device a speed control instruction from the user over thenetwork via a communications device associated with the user; adjustingby the computing device the playing speed of the at least onepre-recorded message in accordance with the received speed controlinstruction; and playing by the computing device the pre-recordedmessage to the user in response to the received speed controlinstruction and the at least one previously received speed controlinstruction.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the speed controlinstruction comprises an instruction to increase or decrease the playingspeed a speed of the playing of the pre-recorded message.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the speed control instruction comprises aninstruction to repeat the playing of a predetermined amount of therecorded message.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the stepsof: determining whether there is data in a storage on the institution'sIVR system associated with at least one of the user or the pre-recordedmessage, the data including at least one speed control instructionpreviously received from the user or another user; if so, retrieving thedata from the storage and playing the pre-recorded message in accordancewith the previously received speed control instruction.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising the step of identifying the user prior todetermining whether there is data in the storage.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the speed control instruction comprises at least one of aspoken command from the user into the communications device or a commandgenerated by the communications device responsive to a selection of abutton or a key on a keypad associated with the communications device.7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: receiving anadditional speed control instruction from the user while playing thepre-recorded message to the user; and adjusting the playing of thepre-recorded message to the user responsive to the additional speedcontrol instruction.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising computer-readable instructions for controlling playback speedof messages on an institution's interactive voice response (IVR) system,said non-transitory computer-readable instructions comprisinginstructions executed to: retrieve by a computing device data associatedwith a user from a storage, the data including at least one speedcontrol instruction previously received from the user during at leastone previous user contact with the IVR system; play by the computingdevice at least one pre-recorded message utilizing the institution's IVRsystem, to the user over a network at the speed preference previouslyselected by the user during at least one previous user contact with theIVR system; receive by the computing device a speed control instructionfrom the user over the network via a communications device associatedwith the user; adjust by the computing device the playing speed of theat least one pre-recorded message in accordance with the received speedcontrol instruction; and play by the computing device the pre-recordedmessage to the user in response to the received speed controlinstruction and the at least one previously received speed controlinstruction.
 9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8,wherein the speed control instruction comprises an instruction toincrease or decrease the playing speed of the pre-recorded message. 10.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein thespeed control instruction comprises an instruction to repeat the playingof a predetermined amount of the recorded message.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprisinginstructions to: determine whether there is data in a storage on theinstitution's IVR system associated with at least one of the user or thepre-recorded message, the data including at least one speed controlinstruction previously received from the user or another user; if so,retrieve the data from the storage and playing the pre-recorded messagein accordance with the previously received speed control instruction.12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, furthercomprising instructions to identify the user prior to determiningwhether there is data in the storage.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the speed controlinstruction comprises at least one of a spoken command from the userinto the communications device or a command generated by thecommunications device responsive to a selection of a button or a key ona keypad associated with the communications device.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprisinginstructions to: receive an additional speed control instruction fromthe user while playing the pre-recorded message to the user; and adjustthe playing of the pre-recorded message to the user responsive to theadditional speed control instruction.
 15. A system for enabling controlof playback speed of messages on an institution's interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled tothe memory to: retrieve data associated with a user from a storage, thedata including at least one speed control instruction previouslyreceived from the user during at least one previous user contact withthe IVR system; play at least one pre-recorded message utilizing theinstitution's IVR system, to the user over a network at the speedpreference previously selected by the user during the at least oneprevious user contact with the IVR system; receive a speed controlinstruction from the user over the network via a communications deviceassociated with the user; adjust the playing speed of the at least onepre-recorded message in accordance with the received speed controlinstruction; and play the pre-recorded message to the user in responseto the received speed control instruction and the at least onepreviously received speed control instruction.
 16. The system of claim15, wherein the speed control instruction comprises an instruction toincrease or decrease the playing speed of the pre-recorded message. 17.The system of claim 15, wherein the speed control instruction comprisesan instruction to repeat the playing of a predetermined amount of therecorded message.
 18. The system of claim 15, said processor coupled tothe memory further to: determine whether there is data in a storage onthe institution's IVR system associated with at least one of the user orthe pre-recorded message, the data including at least one speed controlinstruction previously received from the user or another user; if so,retrieve the data from the storage and playing the pre-recorded messagein accordance with the previously received speed control instruction.19. The system of claim 18, said processor coupled to the memory furtherto identify the user prior to determining whether there is data in thestorage.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the speed controlinstruction comprises at least one of a spoken command from the userinto the communications device or a command generated by thecommunications device responsive to a selection of a button or a key ona keypad associated with the communications device.
 21. The system ofclaim 15, said processor coupled to the memory further to: receive anadditional speed control instruction from the user while playing thepre- recorded message to the user; and adjust the playing of thepre-recorded message to the user responsive to the additional speedcontrol instruction.
 22. The system of claim 15, wherein the storagecomprises the memory.